Chapter 66: Always by Your Side
Whether it was due to exhaustion from traveling or from
dealing with his parents who were giving him a hard time,
Amane woke up late the next morning—if it could even be
called morning, since it was almost noon by the time he got
out of bed.
Amane picked up his terrycloth blanket from where it had
fallen onto the floor at some point in the night, and as he
began folding it, he let out one big yawn.
…I don't think we have any plans for today.
There was Mahiru's request for the four of them to go on
an outing together, but Amane hadn't told his parents about
that yet, as he had been planning to stay at home for the first
few days to rest. It was summer vacation, so he figured it
was all right to get up close to noon, though he couldn't help
feeling like he was being lazy.
Amane changed his clothes at a leisurely pace. Once he
finished dressing and made it down to the living room, he
saw that of course Mahiru had made it there before him. She
was sitting at the table with his mother and father.
Mahiru was peering down at some large object that
resembled a book, and what she saw was making her eyes
sparkle.
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"Good morning. Whatcha looking at?"
"Oh, good morning," Mahiru greeted him, without a shred
of sleepiness to be found in her expression. Then she
lowered her gaze to the book on the table again.
Amane looked down, too, curious as to what it could be,
then covered his face with his hand.
"…Wait a minute, why are you looking at a photo album
without me…?"
He saw a picture of a familiar, mud-caked little boy and
groaned.
Amane's parents were the type to take commemorative
photographs, and they treasured their memories, so it wasn't
surprising that they kept photo albums. The problem was
that they were showing one to Mahiru.
The pictures in the album, which was lying wide open,
were of Amane when he was young. It was filled with photos
of a charming and cherubic little boy, who was doing
something embarrassing in most of them.
Amane felt annoyed as he glared at his mother, who had
been showing Mahiru photographs of him covered in mud or
on the verge of tears with obvious delight.
"Oh, did you want to see your cute photos, too? You
should have said something earlier."
"No, I meant don't show her without my permission!"
"…Was it wrong of me to look?"
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"It's not, but…it's just embarrassing."
"But you're so adorable."
"That's not considered a compliment for a guy, you
know."
If she had called him cool or something, that would have
been better, but adorable was not what he wanted to hear.
Even though he knew she meant his childhood antics were
cute, he wasn't happy about it.
Amane turned away in a huff and could practically feel all
three of them smiling at him.
"Come on, it's fine, isn't it?" his mother prodded.
"Mahiru's clearly crazy about you!"
"I'm sure she just meant that the pictures were cute," he
scoffed.
"O-only because of how different you are now."
"Shiina here must really like you, Amane. As your father,
it makes me happy that you have such a levelheaded girl by
your side."
Out of the corner of his eye, Amane could see Mahiru
staring at the floor, hunched over. He figured that she must
be embarrassed by his parents' praise. However, he was
preoccupied with his own shame over the humiliating
photos his parents had shown off without his permission.
He flopped down onto the sofa in protest, and both of his
parents smiled at him.
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"Don't pout," his father said. "Isn't it true that you have a
great girl by your side who accepts you for who you are?"
"…That is true, but—"
"The one thing that makes us a little sad is that you didn't
tell us, though."
"Uh—"
Apparently, Shuuto knew that he and Mahiru were dating.
Maybe Shihoko had told him, or maybe he had heard it
directly from Mahiru herself.
"…I know you were probably embarrassed to tell us
everything, but—"
"Even so, we would have liked to know," his mother
interjected. "Although, we did guess."
"Well, as soon as Amane said he was bringing a girl home,
we knew, right? And you two are easy to read anyway."
"Oh, shut up!" Amane exclaimed. "So we're dating! Is that
so bad?"
"My, my, you really can't be honest about your feelings,"
his mother scolded. "Are you sure you want a guy like this,
Mahiru dear?"
"Well, Amane is a shy person…and I love him for it."
"I see; well, there you have it."
"I'm relieved you get along so well."
Amane already felt exhausted as his parents gave Mahiru
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delighted looks, before turning their attention to him. He
couldn't even work up the spirit to respond.
…I'm in my own home, but I'm at a total disadvantage.
He knew how his parents were and had anticipated
something like this happening, but it was still almost
unbearable. They were being more welcoming and more
familiar with Mahiru than with their own son, and it made
him uncomfortable.
Amane sighed and, with a feeling of desperation, set the
album on his knees and started flipping through it.
The photos that Mahiru had been looking at so happily
were, as he expected, mostly records of embarrassing
moments. Some had been taken to commemorate special
occasions, but the majority showed him looking foolish.
He was disheartened to see that they also had pictures of
him wearing girls' clothes.
Amane had grown slowly, and until about halfway
through middle school, he'd had a very cherubic face, so as a
game, his mother had sometimes dressed him up in clothes
for girls.
In his second year of middle school, he had gotten
remarkably taller, and she hadn't been able to do that
anymore, but it was a bitter pill to swallow being called girly
face behind his back.
…This brings back memories…
Amane couldn't help but think of the boys who'd once
been his close friends before they'd had their falling out. He
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had left his hometown specifically to get away from all that.
Now, for better or worse, he cut himself off from his past. He
had no intention of sinking in sentimentality. However, he
did think that there was a chance he might run into those
boys, since they had all gone to the local high school, and
that if he did, it was unlikely to go well.
Amane slammed the album shut to cut off the stream of
troublesome memories, and when he looked up, he saw
Mahiru staring at him.
"Ah, um, are you angry…?" she asked. She sounded
worried.
"Why would you think that? I was simply thinking that it
was nostalgic, that's all." Amane shrugged and placed the
album back on the table.
Amane was irritated by the way his parents had been
treating him, but more than that, he couldn't stand seeing
Mahiru upset. He gently extended a hand and patted her on
the head. Mahiru's eyes opened wide for a moment but
immediately softened as her face slackened into a pleasant
smile.
Shihoko gave them an approving look, but Amane ignored
her and gently stroked Mahiru's hair to soothe her
uneasiness.
By the third day of their visit, Mahiru was thoroughly
familiar with Amane's childhood home.
"Wow, Mahiru dear, you're really good!"
The three of them—Amane's parents and Mahiru—were in
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the kitchen, wearing aprons, chummily making some kind of
sweet. Amane was not participating. He hadn't even been
invited, so all he could do was sit in the living room alone
and watch his girlfriend and his parents from a distance.
Amane and Mahiru had traveled a long way to be there, so
Amane's parents were entertaining Mahiru at every
opportunity. They seemed to prefer her over their own son,
and the three of them seemed to be having a grand old time
together.
It wasn't that he didn't understand why his parents doted
on his girlfriend, since she was such a cute, honest, and nice
girl, but they were neglecting their only son.
He didn't particularly need them for anything, or want to
be bothered, but he still had mixed feelings about being
abandoned like that.
Of course, he was happy that Mahiru seemed to enjoy the
attention from his parents. He didn't mind sitting out a bit if
it meant that Mahiru, who had always yearned for a close
family, got to experience one, even if it wasn't hers.
The one thing that bothered him a little was that while his
parents were entertaining Mahiru, Amane hardly got to
spend any time with her.
I guess it's fine since we'll be together when we get back.
He knew that, once they returned to their apartments, he
would have plenty of time alone with Mahiru, but be that as
it may, Amane still felt a bit conflicted.
For the time being, Mahiru and his parents were
preoccupied with each other, so in order to escape his
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discomfort, Amane left the living room and went back to his
bedroom.
He sat down cross-legged in front of a folding table and
opened up a book he had brought.
He didn't have anything to do, and he had taken almost
everything with him to his new place when he moved, so this
was the only way he had to pass the time. In any case, they
had tests coming up right after summer break, so he needed
to study to maintain his rank, and he liked studying anyway,
so it wasn't a pain.
Amane passed the time quietly, lost in his studies like a
good student.
Even though the workbook was new, thanks to his daily
efforts, he was able to solve the problems in it without much
trouble. His parents had always told him to study hard, and
more importantly, he had been working diligently to keep up
with Mahiru, so now he was seeing the results of those
efforts.
I'm sure it's lively down in the kitchen…, he thought
absentmindedly as he checked his answers, drawing red
circles on his paper. He had made a few careless mistakes
but was relieved to see his answers were mostly correct.
Amane still felt uncomfortable, despite the stillness of his
bedroom.
It's always been normal for me to spend time by myself.
Since when have I felt like something is missing without
someone by my side?
Without a doubt, it was because of Mahiru. He had gotten
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used to having her around, so he now felt weirdly incomplete
when he was alone.
Idly spinning his red pen around and around in his hands,
Amane let out a small sigh. He would finish the workbook
soon, a thought that should have made him happy, but just
as he was about to exchange his red pen for a mechanical
pencil with a mournful grumble, the sound of three hard
knocks sounded from the bedroom door.
"Amane?" he heard Mahiru's reserved voice ask.
He had thought she was cooking down in the kitchen, but
when he glanced at the clock, he saw that two hours had
passed. They had probably finished already.
"What's up?"
"Nothing, just—you disappeared without us noticing,
so…"
"I was only studying. I had some time, so…"
He could hardly believe that two hours had gone by, but
that just showed how focused he had been. Actually, in a
way, he had been more distracted than focused since he'd
only started studying to drive other thoughts from his mind.
"…Is that so? Um, is it okay for me to come into your
room?"
"It's fine, but wouldn't you rather be talking to my
parents?"
"…Right now, I want to talk to you, Amane."
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She was probably concerned about him. If not, she
wouldn't have bothered to come visit him in his room. He
thought he was acting immature with his responses, but
there was no reason for him to turn her away, so he opened
the door and said, "Come on in."
On the other side stood Mahiru. She was holding a tray
and looking at him timidly.
On the tray were two café au laits and two cream puffs,
which was apparently what they had been making earlier.
"Pardon the intrusion…"
Mahiru entered hesitantly, making Amane feel a little
awkward, too.
He hurriedly cleared away his workbook and writing
implements, pulled out a cushion for Mahiru, then took the
tray from her and set it down on the folding table.
The beautifully baked cream puffs were magnificent to
behold, like something you would buy from a bakery. And
since Mahiru had made them, Amane knew they would be
delicious.
"We just finished making them. They're not that chilled,
but…"
"Mm, thanks."
He was full of gratitude that she had gone to the trouble of
bringing them up to him, so he said so honestly.
But for some reason, Mahiru cast her eyes downward
uneasily.
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"…Amane, you're not mad…are you?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"Th-the air around you feels prickly. Like it's hard to get
close to you."
Apparently, she had picked up on the fact that he was
upset, although he wasn't actually mad, like she seemed to
think. Amane's feelings were very complicated, and he did
feel lonely. But he wasn't angry whatsoever. After all, there
was nothing wrong with what his parents or Mahiru were
doing, Amane was just in a funk all on his own.
"I'm really not mad at all. It's just—I was feeling lonely
because you got taken away," he admitted.
"Ah…well, that's…"
"Sorry. I know you're having fun spending time with my
mom and dad. I'm just being sulky. It's childish, even for
me." He laughed and shrugged, then took a sip of the café au
lait she had poured for him.
Amane knew that Mahiru was hungry for a loving family,
and he felt bad about leaving her alone earlier. He should
have been enjoying watching her, instead of worrying about
feeling out of place.
Amane was happy as long as Mahiru was happy, but it felt
sad to be left behind, and he was the one who had chosen to
isolate himself further. He had selfishly worked himself into
a bad mood, and he couldn't blame that on Mahiru or his
parents.
Amane set down his cup and sighed, and Mahiru slowly
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looked up at him—then quickly launched herself at his chest.
To be more exact, she got close and leaned her body against
his chest, but Amane was caught off guard by the sudden
physical contact.
He wondered what was wrong all of a sudden, but for the
moment, he gently patted Mahiru's back to comfort her. She
slowly lifted her face and looked Amane directly in the eyes.
"…Of course I have fun spending time with your parents.
It does make me happy, but I need you to know that my
favorite thing is being with you, Amane," she whispered,
then brought her lips to his cheek nervously.
By the time he had registered the faint, soft pressure,
Mahiru had already pulled away.
When he saw her cheeks, suddenly redder than they had
been before, and her eyes welling with tears, Amane
instinctively planted his own kiss on her soft cheek.
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…I've been a fool.
He had been acting like a complete idiot, pouting for no
reason, when Mahiru had been so concerned about him.
He realized again how much he loved her, and he tried to
express his overflowing feelings with that action.
Even if it was just on the cheek, Amane wasn't used to
kissing yet. Mahiru was the same and shivered when
Amane's lips made contact.
At first, she seemed like she was going to run away out of
shame, but as Amane held her tight and touched her gently,
she gradually relaxed into his arms and closed her eyes in
comfort.
Mahiru bashfully kissed Amane's cheek in return, and
overcome by her cuteness, he squeezed her even tighter.
"…Hey, Mahiru?"
After they had kissed each other on the cheeks for a while,
Amane peered down into Mahiru's eyes. She looked back up
at him with an expression filled with both embarrassment
and joy.
"Listen, tomorrow, let's go out together. My parents have
work."
"Just the two of us?"
"I haven't shown you around my hometown yet, have I?
Though, it's not like there's much to see, not like where we
live."
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He had only suggested it because he wanted to spend time
with her, but Mahiru's eyes widened, then she put on an
even softer smile than when they had been kissing.
"Let's go… I'll go anywhere, as long as I'm with you."
"Uh—"
"But today, I want to stay here like this for a little while
longer… Your parents also told me I should spend some time
with you."
"It's none of their business…is what I'd like to say, but
they saw right through me. I guess I am bad at hiding my
feelings."
It seemed Amane's parents had been worried about him
as well.
Amane laughed at how needlessly foolish he had been as
he slowly pulled away from Mahiru.
She looked hurt for a moment, but then Amane pointed at
the cream puffs and whispered, "I want to eat the sweets
that you made," and she immediately cast her eyes down
bashfully.
"…Shall we eat them together?"
"Yes."
Instead of embracing, Amane sat by Mahiru's side,
holding her hand and smiling warmly.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone